Privacy Policy

Opera Prelude is committed to protecting your personal information. It’s your information, it’s personal, and we respect that. We also want to maintain the trust and confidence of every one of our audience members and supporters, as well as users of our website.

Our Privacy Policy gives you detailed information on when and why we collect your personal information, how we use it and how we keep it secure.

Aside from helping us deliver truly exceptional performances and events, the information you share with us means you’ll receive a more personalised and rewarding experience e.g. information about performances that may interest you as well as a smoother ticket-buying process.

Registering for Opera Prelude’s e-newsletter has many benefits, not least the opportunity to receive information about our work and our young artist’s performances with other companies. You can register with us at any time by emailing us or via our website.

2. How We Collect Your Personal Information

Generally, we collect your information when you decide to interact with us. This could include purchasing tickets online, over the phone or in person or it could be where you sign up to receive emails from us.

We collect information when you contact us in a number of ways which are listed below:

1. Buy tickets online including Friends Membership

2. Contact us by phone to book tickets

3. Make a donation

4. Contact us by post, e.g. application forms for Friends membership

3. The Types of Information We Collect

We only collect the information that’s necessary to carry out our business, provide the particular service you’ve requested and to keep you informed. There are occasions when you can choose not to give us certain information, but this for example, may limit the level of personalisation we offer e.g. you may not get to hear about an event you would have loved to have attended.

The type of information we collect depends on where and when it is gathered:

Information we obtain directly from you:

When you purchase tickets or other items from us online, by post or phone we need to collect information from you in order to provide the service you are

requesting. We may collect:

 Prefix and name

 Email address

 Contact phone number(s)

 Delivery address(s)

 Billing address

Social Media

 Depending on your settings or the privacy policies for social media and messaging services like Facebook, WhatsApp or Twitter, you may give us permission to access information from those accounts or services.

4. Why We Collect Your Personal Information and How We Use It

The information we hold on you will be used in a number of ways. Here are the main ones: to provide a service you have requested, offer you a personalised experience and understand our audience’s needs better, inform you of events or updates you’ve asked for or contact you if we need to obtain or provide additional information (e.g. cast changes).

Specifically, we use your information we collect in the following ways:

To carry out our business and to provide a service or carry out a contract with you:

 To fulfil ticket, donation and membership requests.

 Process payments. Please note that Opera Prelude does not store any Credit Card or other payment information.

 Provide the best possible customer services and to help us with internal administration.

 Contact you with important information relating to your booking or purchase, such as confirming your order, reminding you of an upcoming performance you’ve booked for or letting you know about cast changes or any other issues that may affect your visit.

Where we have your consent:

 Send you updates via email about what’s on, offers and news or about supporting us.

 Email or post information to you about a specific topic you’ve requested to hear more about

Where we have justifiable reason (including legal obligation and legitimate interest):

 Learn about your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information that is relevant to you.

 Help us target our marketing communications and adverts so that they’re more relevant to you.

 For classifying our audience into groups or segments, using booking and publicly available information. These segments help us to understand our audience better and ensure we’re sending relevant messages to each group.

 Measure and understand how our audiences respond to a variety of marketing activity so we can ensure our activity is well targeted, relevant and effective.

 Analyse and continually improve the services we offer including our artistic output, our website and our other products.

 To keep our database accurate and relevant, for example, using National Change of Address.

5. How We Handle Your Information and Other Organisations

Opera Prelude will never share, sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third parties for marketing purposes without your prior consent. We will ask for your consent to share personal information with like-minded arts organisations whose shows you will have seen here via Opera Prelude or in collaboration with us at another venue.

Opera Prelude is not responsible for the privacy notices and practices of other websites even if accessed using links from www.operaprelude.org and recommends that you check the policy of each website you visit and contact its owner or Data Protection Manager if you have any concerns or questions. Despite all our precautions, no data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. So, we cannot guarantee the security of any information which you disclose to us and so wish to draw your attention to the fact that you do so at your own risk.

6. How We Protect Your Data

Opera Prelude is committed to protecting the personal information you entrust to us. We adopt robust and appropriate technologies and policies, so the information we have about you is protected from unauthorised access and improper use.

As part of the services offered to you through Opera Prelude’s website, the personal information you provide may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). By way of example, this may happen if any of the computer servers used to host the website are located in a country outside of the EEA. If Opera Prelude transfers your personal information outside of the EEA in this way, we will take steps to ensure that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this privacy notice.

We will keep your information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice and to fulfil our legal obligations. We will not keep more information than we need. The retention period will vary according to the purpose, for example if purchasing a ticket only, we will typically keep your data for up to ten years from the date of your last transaction whereas if you have pledged a legacy to Opera Prelude, we will hold your details until notified by your executors. For further information about how long we will keep your information, please contact the Marketing Manager using the contact details marketing@operaprelude.org outlined in this notice.

If you ask us to stop sending direct marketing communications to you, we will keep the minimum amount of information (e.g. name, address or email address) to ensure we adhere with such requests.

7. The Little Box Office

Opera Prelude use thelittleboxoffice.com, an online application provided by The Little Box Office Limited (“LBO”), to manage our ticket sales. We use LBO to process personal information as a data processor on our behalf. LBO is only entitled to process your personal data in accordance with our instructions.

What information do we gather?

When you use the LBO platform, you may be asked to fill out an online form with personal information such as your name, address, telephone number and email address. This information is collected to enable us to sell you the tickets only, and will not be passed to any other organisations.

Some of the information We collect through forms is marked as mandatory (i.e. the information needed to complete the ticket sale, such as your full name and e-mail address) and other information is provided voluntarily, if you fail to provide us with information that is marked as mandatory we will not be able to process your form or carry out the intended function (e.g. sell you a ticket).

Payment details

Payment is handled separately, and securely, through Stripe, our Payment Processor. Your payment card details are never collected by us and we never have access to them. You should refer to the Payment Processor’s own privacy notice for information about how they process your personal data.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We rely on “performance of a contract with the data subject” as the lawful basis of processing your information where we do this so that we can provide you with our tickets and services. We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data for the purposes of direct marketing.

How do we process this information, and for what purpose?

We require these personal details for the following reasons:

 We need your full name and e-mail address so we may be able to send you

tickets electronically, so We can re-issue you tickets and offer refunds if necessary.

 We require this information for our own record keeping

 Where you are an existing customer or have previously enquired about our products and services, we may use your personal information to send you promotional material about other related services or products. You always have the right to “opt out” of such communications if they are not of interest to you. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, simply send us an

email request or check the relevant box during the booking process.

Who will we share this information with?

We may pass your information to our third party service providers and other associated organisations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf, including The Little Box Office, who host the online ticketing platform, and the Payment Processor.

We may also disclose your personal data to third parties:

 if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Terms and Conditions; or

 to protect our rights, property, or safety or that of our affiliated entities and our users and any third party we interact with.

Other than as set out above, and save insofar as is necessary in order for us to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, we will not share your data with third parties unless we have procured your express consent to do so.

How do we protect your information?

We take appropriate measures to ensure that any personal data are kept secure, including security measures to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal data to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Our Payment Processor use their own security measures to keep your personal banking details safe, including safeguards such as firewalls and data encryption. Please see the Payment Processor’s own privacy notice for more information about how they protect your personal data.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to the Website; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

How long we keep your personal data

• Where you have made a purchase we will hold all your data in relation to that purchase for 7 years. We are required to retain this information by applicable UK tax law.

• If you have opted-in to receive email marketing information from us, we will

hold your contact details for seven years for marketing purposes. You will be given the option to opt-out (unsubscribe) from each marketing email you receive from us.

Where we store your personal data

All information we hold about you is stored by the Little Box Office on their secure servers, which may be at a destination outside the European Economic Area ("EEA").

Countries outside the EEA do not have the same data protection laws as the United Kingdom and EEA. Whilst the European Commission has not given a formal decision that such countries provide an adequate level of data protection similar to those which apply in the United Kingdom and EEA, any transfer of your personal data will be subject to a European Commission approved contract (as permitted under Article 46(5) of the General Data Protection Regulation, or such other approved mechanism that is designed to help safeguard your privacy rights and give you remedies in the unlikely event of a misuse of your personal data.

We will not otherwise transfer your personal data outside of the United Kingdom OR EEA or to any organisation (or subordinate bodies) governed by public international law or which is set up under any agreement between two or more countries.

Use of Cookies

The Little Box Office’s website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Website. This helps them to provide you with a good experience when you browse our Website and also allows them to improve the Website. By using their Website you agree to our use of cookies as more specifically set out below.

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that they store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.

The cookies they use include:

• “Analytical” cookies. They allow them to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the website when they are using it. This helps them to improve the way their website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

• “Strictly necessary” cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of their website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of their website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.

• “Functionality” cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to their Website. This enables them to personalise their content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).

• “Targeting” cookies. These cookies record your visit to their website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed to their affiliates websites. They will use this information to make their website, offers e-mailed to you and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. They may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

Please note that third parties affiliates may also use cookies, over which they have no control.

You may block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of the Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, their system will issue cookies as soon as you visit their Website.

External links

This site may contain links to other sites at which your personal information is collected, on our event pages for example. When following a link to another site, the collection and use of your personal information is controlled by the privacy policy of that site. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy policies of external websites and your use of external websites is at your own risk.

8. Little Box Office End User Terms and Conditions

Use of the Online Box Office

a. These terms and conditions (“Terms”) apply to tickets sold through Our online box office (“Website”). Please read these Terms carefully before placing your order. You acknowledge that by purchase you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not accept these Terms, you must not place an order for any of the tickets through the website.

b. The information contained in this website has been prepared solely for the purpose of providing information about performances and making online bookings for these performances and must not be used for any other purpose.

c. By accessing this site you will be assuming all risks associated with the use of this site, including risk of your computer, software or data being damaged by any virus which might be transmitted or activated via Our Website or your access to it.

d. You will only use this website for personal private use.

Orders and Payment

a. The published price of the ticket (“Price”) includes any applicable taxes and booking or collection fees.

b. You acknowledge and agree that the Price may be subject to change and variation from time to time.

c. You shall pay for the tickets using one of the methods specified on the website. Your Order shall not be placed until we have received your payment.

d. Your Order constitutes an offer to us to buy Tickets. All Orders are subject to acceptance by us, and we will confirm such acceptance to you by sending you an e-mail either attaching your Tickets subject to the Order or that confirms that the Tickets have been dispatched by post, as applicable (“Order Confirmation”). The contract between us will only be formed when we send you the Order Confirmation (“Contract”).

e. It is your responsibility to check the Tickets that are subject to your Order and we are under no obligation to rectify any mistakes once the Contract has been formed in accordance with clause 2a above.

f. We will not be responsible for any tickets that are lost, stolen or destroyed.

Delivery

Tickets will be supplied by email. It is your responsibility to print the tickets prior to the date of the event. You may not be admitted to the event without a printed ticket. We shall not be liable for any failure by you to print the tickets.

Refunds and Exchanges

a. Unless otherwise expressly stated in these Terms, you will not be able to cancel an Order after it has been accepted by us, nor are you entitled to a refund for any tickets purchased by you, even if you are unable to attend the event. The cancellation rights contained in the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulation 2000 (as amended) do not apply to the sale of Tickets.

b. If the event is cancelled or rescheduled by us you will be entitled to a refund of the Price, less any postage and/or card charges. Refunds must be claimed within 1 month from the date of the event.

c. We will use reasonable endeavours to notify you if an event is cancelled or rescheduled, but you acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to check whether an event has been cancelled or rescheduled and we have no liability for any failure to notify you.

Conditions of admission

a. You shall comply with all policies, procedures and safety announcements in force at the venue at which the event is to be performed, including any security procedures in place from time to time.

b. We reserve the right to refuse you admission to any event.

b. We reserve the right to request patrons to leave the premises.

c. You should retain your ticket as it may be required for re-admission.

d. Animals are not permitted within the venue, with the exception of assistance

dogs.

Accuracy

We use reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information contained on the Website is correct at time of being published. We reserve the right to make alterations.

Data Protection

We process your personal data in accordance with all applicable data protections laws, as set out in our Privacy Notice.

Limitation of Liability

a. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we shall only be liable to you for the Price of the tickets and, subject to clause 9b, any loss you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our negligence, but We are not responsible for any loss, damages, costs or expenses you suffer which were not reasonably foreseeable to be incurred by you and could not have been reasonably foreseeable by you or us on entering these Terms. Loss or damage is foreseeable if they were an obvious consequence of our breach or if they were contemplated by you and us at the time we entered into this Contract.

b. We only supply tickets for private use. You agree not to use the tickets for any business or re-sale purposes and, notwithstanding clause 9a, we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity, howsoever arising.

c. We do not in any way exclude or limit our liability for:

i.death or personal injury caused by our negligence;

ii. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;

iii. any breach of the terms implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (title and quiet possession);

iv. any breach of the terms implied by section 13 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and sections 3 to 5 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (description, satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and samples);

v. any other matter for which it would be illegal for Us to exclude or attempt to exclude Our liability.

Events Outside Our Control

a. We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused by events outside our reasonable control, which may include strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of

terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, impossibility of the use of railways, shipping, aircraft, motor transport or other means of public or private transport, impossibility of the use of public or private telecommunications networks and the acts, decrees, legislation, regulations or restrictions of any government (“Force Majeure Event”).

b. Our performance under these Terms is deemed to be suspended for the period that the Force Majeure Event continues, and we will have an extension of time for performance for the duration of that period. We will use our reasonable endeavours to bring the Force Majeure Event to a close or to find a solution by which our obligations under these Terms may be performed despite the Force Majeure Event.

Variation Of The Terms

We have the right to revise and amend these Terms from time to time, including but not limited to making changes to reflect current market conditions affecting our business, changes in technology, changes in payment methods and changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements.

General

a. If any of these Terms are determined by any competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, such term, condition or provision will to that extent be severed from the remaining terms, conditions and provisions which shall continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.

b. These Terms and any document expressly referred to in them represent the entire agreement between you and us in respect of your use of the website and your use of the Tickets, and shall supersede any prior agreement, understanding or arrangement between you and us, whether oral or in writing.

c. You acknowledge that in entering into these Terms, you have not relied on any representations, undertaking or promise given by or implied from anything said or written whether on the website, the internet or in negotiation between you and us except as expressly set out in these Terms.

d. These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with English law. The Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of these Terms.

9. Your Choices

We want you to feel in control of the data that we hold. Every email we send to you will include details on how to unsubscribe from future communications. You can request full details of personal information we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998, or after 25 May 2018, The General Data Protection Regulation, by contacting the Marketing Manager. Please send a description of the information you would like to see, together with proof of your identity to marketing@operaprelude.org

At any time you have the right to ask Opera Prelude to amend or stop how it uses your personal information including for marketing purposes. You can do this by contacting us by phoning or emailing using our contact details below.

You have the right to get information held about you by us corrected. If you have any concern about the accuracy of your personal data, please let us know using the below contact details.

If you would like us to remove the personal information we hold about you, please contact us using the below contact details.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, The Information Commissioner’s Office – www.ico.org.uk

By email: marketing@operaprelude.org By phone: +44 (0)20 7183 7323

10. Updates or Changes to the Privacy Policy and Further Information

This notice was updated on 14 May 2018. It may be updated to take into account changes at Opera Prelude or for example to reflect changes to regulation or legislation.

Updates to this policy will be posted on this page – please check back from time to time. We may also inform you of any changes where we hold an appropriate email address for you.

When your data is provided to us by another person (for example a recommendation) or a publicly accessible sources (such as Google) we will tell you where we obtained the information within a month of getting it.

Further information on data protection regulations and laws can be found here:

It is never too late – or too early – to develop a passion for opera or to further our appreciation of this extraordinary and compelling art form!

Fiona Hamilton and Adriana Festeu started Opera Prelude together in 2010. They met at a concert, discovered their joint love of opera and interest in the development of young singers. Fiona instigated the novel idea of hosting lecture recitals as a means of giving experience and fairly-paid employment opportunities for some of the country’s finest young singers at the start of their careers. Adriana delivered numerous lecture-recitals over the years in parallel with developing her performing as well as academic career. She has gained a PhD from the Royal Academy of Music, where she now does academic work in addition to being Senior Lecturer at Leeds College of Music. Opera Prelude became a registered charity in 2014. Fiona and Adriana continue to oversee the strategic and artistic implementation of the year-round programme of opera related events and outreach work undertaken by Opera Prelude’s next generation talent. The majority of our events take place in London’s Cadogan Hall and Oxfordshire. We have a growing reputation for giving innovative and historically informed performances in prestigious and historic houses, working closely with musicologists, scholars and curators within the heritage sector. We bring opera into the community, engaging, educating and involving audiences with our informal and accessible events. Since our inception, we have supported the professional development and pastoral care of over forty young artists, the majority of whom go on to successful careers, finding agents, winning prizes/competitions and performing with major opera companies.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Leslie completed her training on the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music, after receiving a Post Graduate Diploma in Voice from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has performed across Europe and North America, making her American debut with New York City Opera as Mama/Tzippy in Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are, Further engagements include Dryade and Der Komponist (cover) Ariadne auf Naxos for the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Mrs. TV The Golden Ticket for Wexford Festival Opera, Nerone L’incoronazione di Poppea for Hampstead Garden Opera, The Fox The Cunning Little Vixen, Sorceress Dido and Aeneas, and Queen Elizabeth I Frobisher for the Banff Festival. For The Glyndebourne Festival, she has coverd Magdalene Die Meistersinger von Nürenberg, Ramiro, La Finta Giardiniera, Meg Page Falstaff, La Bergére/La Chauve Souri, L’enfant et les sortileges, Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, and Kitchen Girl Rusalka. Leslie is the recipient of numerous awards including the Adele Leigh Memorial Award and the Lieder Prize at the Richard Tauber Prize at Wigmore Hall. She held an Independent Opera Post Graduate Voice Fellowship, was a laureate at the Ochestre Symphonique de Montréal Standard Life Competition, is a Samling Scholar, a Royal Bank Youth Excellence Scholarship, and a British Columbia Arts Council Award for Post Graduate Studies. Leslie’s work with Opera prelude includes auditioning young singers, developing programs and concerts, and managing the running of the charity.

Hannah runs the marketing and PR for Opera Prelude and loves the variety that the job brings together with the knowledge that we are collectively making a difference to the careers of our emerging young artists. Having a Masters in Museum Studies, she has worked at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as well as the River & Rowing Museum in Henley, primarily looking after their Friends & Patrons. At both Museums, she helped launch a number of prestigious social events to promote these institutions, working closely with the Chair of the Patrons, the Events Team and Curators. Hannah has a daughter who will soon be starting secondary school. During the little freetime she has, she likes to walk the dog, do yoga, read or generally just try to relax!

Alex trained at Hull University, TrinityLaban conservatoire, English National Opera’s ‘Opera Works’ and the Berlin Opera Academy. He has performed all over the world as an operatic soloist and consort singer. For 5 years Alex was a full time member of a cappella ensemble Apollo5, renowned for their beautiful choral music as well as a trend setting education programme. Alex led the education team for Apollo5 for 3 years and during that team he gave masterclasses, workshops and coaching to over 60,000 children. He is passionate about the transformative power of music and has worked with students young, the old and those with mental health issues or physical impairment; this extends to those with conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, and SEND children and he is also an experienced CPD leader allowing him to help train the next generation of workshop facilitators. Alex has led Opera Prelude’s ‘See Golden Days’ concert series for the past 2 years with the generous support of our donors, Age Unlimited.

Another Fiona and also Scottish, Fiona comes from Hamilton in Scotland but has lived in England for over 30 years – though she still has her Scottish accent. She is married with 2 children and lives in Medmenham near Marlow. In her younger days she sang lead vocals with a band in Scotland and still sings now in a local choir aptly named the Descant Housewives. Fiona’s key responsibility at Opera Prelude is managing the Gift Aid programme which is a valuable source of additional income for all the work that we do in helping to support our young singers.

Maria started playing a piano at the age of 6 and gave her first public performance at the age of 7. She graduated with distinction from a Music College and Conservatory in Russia. Maria received Diplomas and prizes in several competitions and festivals, performed with Karelian Philharmonic orchestra and was granted to participate in various summer schools and masterclasses in Russia, Finland, England and Scotland.

In 2012 Maria received a scholarship to study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with Martin Roscoe and Caroline Palmer. Maria was working as a staff accompanist at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and now occasionally appears as an accompanist for students Final Recitals and concerts. As well as performing alongside singers and instrumentalists, Maria is busy as a solo performer.

She has regular recitals in the UK and in RussiaMaria joined the Opera Prelude team in 2014. In 2016, with an incredible support given by Opera Prelude Director, Fiona Hamilton, Maria added a Russian twist to Opera Prelude `s programme and gave her lecture about Tchaikovsky`s opera Yevgeniy Onegin. Maria was particularly interested in that opera after coaching singers for the performance of Yevgeniy Onegin in Darlington International Festival in 2015. In 2017 Maria coached and accompanied Opera Prelude’s singers for the all-Russian evening concert in Pushkin House.

During 2017-2018 Season there were two more Russian-themed lectures where Maria was programming the music and collaborated with the lecturers.

In 2018 Maria became Director of a Russian Programming and is planning more Russian-themed lectures for future Seasons.

A music graduate from Kings College London, Sarah is Senior Producer for The Royal Opera, where she leads the producing team for the Royal Opera’s Linbury Theatre and the Royal Opera’s work in partnership with other venues in the UK and worldwide including The Barbican Theatre, Lincoln Center, Shakespeare’s Globe, Lyric Hammersmith, Roundhouse and Curve Leicester amongst many others. Sarah’s work at the Royal Opera is predominantly focused on contemporary and new work at the forefront of the development of the genre. Previously Sarah spent nine years at Opera Holland Park, the award winning summer opera festival based in West London, where she worked as Associate Producer for James Clutton.

Sarah is passionate about engaging and supporting young talent, new work and reaching new audiences. In 2012, Sarah and Producer James Clutton commissioned Opera Holland Park’s first new opera, ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ by Will Todd. It was in shaping this new work for the first time that Sarah got the new opera bug which led her to her current role with ROH. When Sarah is not working she particularly enjoys cooking & running and has raised over £10,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer running two London Marathons.

Nicholas discovered his love of opera at a very early age. The first time he was quiet for a two hour span was when he was sat in front of a video of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the age of 2. Fortunately, in many respects, very little has changed.

After studying clarinet at Trinity Laban for a year, Nicholas read Music at the University of Oxford, where he focused his academic study on opera ranging from its inception through to the twentieth century. Whilst there, Nicholas was an ambassador for the Royal Opera House, promoting ROH initiatives and productions to the students of Oxford.

In late 2012 Nicholas co-founded Opera Lyrica with the dual aims of enabling young singers, musicians, directors, designers, and technicians gain experience and increasing opera’s audience, especially amongst the younger generation. The charity put on productions of classic operas and brought opera to a number of communities in and around the South of England.

More recently, Nicholas has been the Company Manager at The Grange Festival, working with some of the world’s most acclaimed singers in a unique setting. In his spare time, Nicholas enjoys going to the theatre and sailing.

Sarah studied Theatre and Performance BA and Advertising and Marketing MA, both at Leeds University. Whilst here she discovered her love for producing when she became the Producer for Hungry Bitches Productions Theatre Company (yes… really); who specialise in new musical theatre productions with a contemporary bite. With Hungry Bitches Productions their shows “FACEHUNTERS” and “AMERICANA” were both selected for The Sunday Times National Student Drama Festival, where they picked up the Cameron Mackintosh Award for musical theatre as well as producing sell-put shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 3 years running.

In 2012 Sarah became the Founding Producer of The International Opera Awards, which have gone from strength to strength over the past few years, with significant growth in audience numbers and international recognition. Now firmly established as the Oscars of the opera world, and one the most significant and highly-anticipated events in the global arts calendar: the “Toscars”. The Opera Awards Foundation, their charity and raison d’être supports aspiring talent in opera throughout the world. As well as producing the awards and being a trustee of Opera Prelude, Sarah works in business development for Investor Publishing Ltd, is on the English National Opera Young Patron’s Committee and is Chairman of the Helios Collective.